Can't block caller ID in Massachusetts?

[Mark O. Aldrich]

On Mon, 15 Jul 1996, Perry E. Metzger wrote:

> 
> Eric Murray writes:
> > When I called the Pac Bell customer service droids to get my "complete"
> > blocking I asked them why they won't block CID to 800 numbers.
> > Their answer: "that's just the way it works". 
> 
> There is a really easy reason for this.
> 
> When you call an 800 number, the other guy gets billed. The person
> that gets billed has a legal right to know the call details of a toll
> call they are paying for. If you don't want them to know where you are
> calling from, don't ask them to pay for it.

Well put.  I guess a lot of folks forget the basic premise of an 800 call.
It's a non-operator assisted collect call and, _yes_, the calling party
should know who's calling so they can decide if they want to take the call
(yes, there are "out of service area" screening services already
available for inbound 800 numbers). 

HOWEVER, ANI is available to anyone who wants to pay for it, not just
those folks with inbound 800 service.  Thus, I'd contend that there should
be ANI blocking services, but that they should not be used against 800
numbers.  This lack of anonymity via the phone service presents a
disturbing precedent in terms of it being used as model for the Internet,
particularly once "pay for it" services become more common.

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